Korea Tourism Organization Climbs Three Grades to B in Management Evaluation After Last Year's E Rating

Escaping the Lowest Grade in Public Institution Evaluation... Auditor's Performance Rated D
Kangwon Land and GKL Receive C Grades

The Korea Tourism Organization has escaped from the lowest rating it received in the previous year in the public institution management evaluation. Having received an E grade last year, the Korea Tourism Organization climbed three levels this year to receive a B grade, which is considered "Good." Such a jump of three levels at once is rare, making this an exceptional rebound.

Photo of the headquarters building of the Korea Tourism Organization. Photo by Korea Tourism Organization

According to the "2025 Public Institution Management Performance Evaluation Results" announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on June 19, the Korea Tourism Organization received a B grade in the evaluation conducted for 88 public corporations and quasi-governmental agencies.

The public institution management evaluation does not rank the institutions but instead announces their results in six grade categories: S, A, B, C, D, and E. In this year's evaluation, there were no institutions with an S grade; 15 institutions received an A grade, 29 received a B grade, 28 received a C grade, 13 received a D grade, and 3 received an E grade.

The Korea Tourism Organization received a B grade in 2022, then fell to a C grade in 2023 and an E grade in 2024. In this year's evaluation, it regained a B grade. This represents a rise of three levels compared to the previous year, meaning that an institution that received the lowest grade last year has returned to the "Good" grade in just one year. Since 2014, only a few institutions, such as Korea Midland Power, Korea Technology Finance Corporation, and Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, have experienced a three-level jump in the public institution management evaluation.

This result is also noteworthy as it is the first management evaluation report card following the inauguration of President Park Sunghyuk. The Korea Tourism Organization experienced a long vacancy in its presidency after the resignation of the previous president in January 2024. President Park took office at the end of last year and officially began his work at the beginning of this year.

However, as this evaluation targets the 2025 management performance, it is difficult to interpret the result as solely attributable to President Park's achievements. It may be interpreted as a signal that the organization has entered a normalization phase after a prolonged period of leadership vacancy.

The performance report cards for public enterprises in the tourism sector were mixed. While the Korea Tourism Organization received a B grade, Kangwon Land and Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) each received a C grade, which is considered "Average." GKL was included among those subject to warning due to receiving an "Unsatisfactory" rating in the evaluation of its chief executive, while Kangwon Land received a B grade in the audit performance evaluation.

Although the Korea Tourism Organization received a B grade in the evaluation of institutional management performance, it was graded D in the audit performance evaluation for its standing auditor. It was found that the relevant auditor was not in office during the evaluation period, so the organization was not included among those subject to warning. The evaluation results are used for the payment of performance bonuses to heads, executives, and employees, as well as for submission of improvement plans and management consulting for institutions rated "Unsatisfactory" or lower.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance finalized these evaluation results through review and resolution by the Public Institution Steering Committee. This year's evaluation covered the 2025 management performance of 31 public corporations and 57 quasi-governmental agencies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.